Tell us a few little things you do to save money

[jollystomper]

I make my own pitchers of decaf iced tea from tea bags instead of buying them from the store. I can control the strength and minimize the amount of sugar to make it somewhat healthier than what is one the shelves. It is an easy "parallel" task - i.e. one I can do while also doing something else - so there is no time impact.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I'm not making this up: I discovered the other day that DW has been re-using dryer sheets.

Edit: she doesn't read this forum and had no idea.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

We cancelled our home delivery newspaper subscription (Sunday only) when the delivery part of the subscription fee was greater than 100% of the cover price of the paper. Now DH & I walk to the local Walgreens on Sunday mornings to get a copy. We started last Fall and I can only remember 1 week where weather made us opt to drive rather than walk.

+1 (sorta)

We canceled the local paper when it shrank to the size of a postage stamp, was 50% obituaries (OK, I'm exaggerating), and we realized we had already heard all the news either online or on TV. I can read a limited number of the local rag's articles for free each month on their web site, so I choose them carefully. I get the gist of the local news from the headlines.

I miss the funny pages though, and I find reading them online tedious. So when we go to the library once or twice a week, I read them in the paper there.

 

[Nemo2]

I miss the funny pages though

I've noted, over the decades, that quite often the most astute observations are to be found in (some of) the comic strips.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I hadn't kept up with this thread until tonight, and it strikes me that many of the things listed as money-savers are just what everybody did when I was young. Well, everybody we knew, anyway. Of course you ate at home most every meal, didn't hire anyone to mow your grass, did your own housekeeping, and figured out how to fix something when it broke. I grew up hearing my dear old Dad say, "turn out that light if nobody's in there!" or "who left the TV on in an empty room?!" We took Navy showers, meaning that you turned off the water while soaping up and you better not run water more than three minutes total.

 

[Koolau]

I hadn't kept up with this thread until tonight, and it strikes me that many of the things listed as money-savers are just what everybody did when I was young. Well, everybody we knew, anyway. Of course you ate at home most every meal, didn't hire anyone to mow your grass, did your own housekeeping, and figured out how to fix something when it broke. I grew up hearing my dear old Dad say, "turn out that light if nobody's in there!" or "who left the TV on in an empty room?!" We took Navy showers, meaning that you turned off the water while soaping up and you better not run water more than three minutes total.

I'll have to admit that by the time our kids came along (late in life for us) we did not enforce the rules DW and I grew up with. For fun, I would mention some of these to the kids - empty rooms should be dark, TV/Radio off unless being used, tub baths in age order using the same water (they never DID quite believe that one), rinse out the last of the ketchup with home made tomato juice, etc., etc. I often wonder if things got really bad, could our kids survive. I hope we never have to find out. YMMV

 

[athena53]

I hadn't kept up with this thread until tonight, and it strikes me that many of the things listed as money-savers are just what everybody did when I was young.

Now that you mention it, I was raised that way, too. We were comfortable- Dad had an Engineering degree and always had a decent job with benefits- but they were saving for college for the 5 of us, plus their retirement. The first time I ever flew on a plane I was 16 and I paid for it myself (and it was Columbus to Akron-Canton, Ohio). Mom even bought produce "marked down for quick sale" if she could think of an immediate use for it. Good way to grow up- I'm still VERY thrifty in areas that aren't important to me but I splurge where I want. Today I fly to Iceland in Business Class; FaceBook just showed me a picture taken when DH and I were in Barcelona 7 years ago. I'm wearing a pair of pants I brought with me on this trip, too!

 

[Nemo2]

DW's daughter/SIL leave lights on everywhere at their place......DW & I say nothing......but we do surreptitiously turn many of them off.

 

[Totoro]

To be fair to the young ones: leaving on a light only costs about 1/10th or so what it used to cost if one uses LED

 

[pb4uski]

...tub baths in age order using the same water (they never DID quite believe that one)...

While not true, it is a wive's tale that the practice that you describe was the origin of the phrase "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater".

Some claim the phrase originates from a time when the whole household shared the same bath water. The head of household (Lord) would bathe first, followed by the men, then the Lady and the women, then the children, followed lastly by the baby. The water would be so black from dirt that a baby could be accidentally "tossed out with the bathwater".

 

[spncity]

Our kids learned to turn lights out when they weren't being used IMMEDIATELY upon transitioning to living in their own place and paying their own bills.

 

[brett]

We did one thing in prior to early retirement that made a substantial difference to our our expenses and our income.

We spent time to analyze our bank fees, including things like MERS on our various sheltered and unsheltered accounts. The review included monthly bank fees and even credit card admin fees on foreign transactions. The results were surprising. As a result we gradually moved everthing away from the bank. The largest savings were from fees that we hidden or buried deep in the verbage. We now only have a free seniors chequing account and a safe deposit box. Everything else got moved-and either resulted in a cost saving or in increase in investment return.

 

[kcowan]

We also went through all recurring charges and eliminated redundant charges. Sadly the number of CCs has been creeping up owing rewards programs. Even the, we are dropping rewards and moving to cashback.

We do not chase coupon discounts except the occasional Groupon.

 

[Sojourner]

We do not chase coupon discounts except the occasional Groupon.

Speaking of Groupon, I recently purchased a few when they were running a site-wide "99% off" sale and a "50% off" sale. Hard to beat those kinds of savings, even though a lot of what's offered on Groupon is stuff I have little interest in. But with the 50% off deal, I was able to get a ticket to a local winery tour and tasting for less than $10.

 

[rodi]

Two things I've read here bear repeating:

- Look at recurring charges... that's everything from cable and telephone... to magazines... to sirius or pandora.... Is worth X dollars a year for the service? Is there a cheaper option? Attacking recurring charges to find lower cost, but equally good, alternatives is a good way to save money.

- Use the library. Sure it's easy to buy a book for your kindle... but it's FREE to get that same book at the library. Many libraries have e-books - so you can still use your kindle, phone or tablet if that's your preference. Many libraries will let you queue up books and pull them from other libraries if they aren't at your local library. I used to spend a few hundred dollars a year on books... now I spend zero - and actually read more than before.

 

[ncbill]

Two things I've read here bear repeating:

- Look at recurring charges... that's everything from cable and telephone... to magazines... to sirius or pandora.... Is worth X dollars a year for the service? Is there a cheaper option? Attacking recurring charges to find lower cost, but equally good, alternatives is a good way to save money.

- Use the library. Sure it's easy to buy a book for your kindle... but it's FREE to get that same book at the library. Many libraries have e-books - so you can still use your kindle, phone or tablet if that's your preference. Many libraries will let you queue up books and pull them from other libraries if they aren't at your local library. I used to spend a few hundred dollars a year on books... now I spend zero - and actually read more than before.

I do this, but also request paper books from any public library in my state via interlibrary loan online.

 

[Souschef]

My main saving is on groceries. Between the weekly ad and the e-mails I get, I shop for bargains. I do not buy anything we do not need, however.
Tuesday I spent $67 and saved $65 off their regular prices.
We have a little 6 cu ft freezer we have fully stocked.
As an example, we love rib eye steaks, and the regular price is $12.88/lb. When they go on sale at $5.88/lb, I stock up.

 

[6miths]

To be fair to the young ones: leaving on a light only costs about 1/10th or so what it used to cost if one uses LED

Have you seen the price of electricity? In these parts it has been increasing well above the inflation rate for at least 10 years. Not to mention that where the kitchen of my youth had a fixture with two light bulbs in the middle of the room and maybe another above the sink... now it has like 10 pot lights, a few spots and a bunch of under cabinet lighting.

 

[Nemo2]

Have you seen the price of electricity? In these parts it has been increasing well above the inflation rate for at least 10 years.

We, in Ontario, all (or pretty much all) know who to 'credit' with that slice of political brilliance.

 

[Meadbh]

We, in Ontario, all (or pretty much all) know who to 'credit' with that slice of political brilliance.

No politics, remember!

 

[Winemaker]

Have you seen the price of electricity? In these parts it has been increasing well above the inflation rate for at least 10 years. Not to mention that where the kitchen of my youth had a fixture with two light bulbs in the middle of the room and maybe another above the sink... now it has like 10 pot lights, a few spots and a bunch of under cabinet lighting.

I'm outraged that the cost of electricity around here has gone from 4.8 cents/kwh to 6.95 cents/kwh in the past 9 years.

 

[6miths]

We aren't much above that off-peak (8.8) which is where 90+% of our usage is but rates have still gone up well above the inflation rate. As suggested by Nemo2, this may have had something to do with some questionable decisions made by the usual suspects.

 

[jimbob40]

Use the Mcdonalds app. It saves me a few bucks every week. It's worth it.

 

[Hyper]

I despise mowing! Haven't owned a mower for 5+ yrs. We moved the fence within 5' of the house and let the stock do the mowing. We do own a weed eater though.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We aren't much above that off-peak (8.8) which is where 90+% of our usage is but rates have still gone up well above the inflation rate. As suggested by Nemo2, this may have had something to do with some questionable decisions made by the usual suspects.

Our top tier is .40 kwh, avg .23 kwh.